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somethingusefulfromflorida · 4 years

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If John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated, how long would he have lived for?

His father Joseph P. Kennedy lived to be 81, and his mother Rose Fitzgerald lived to be 104. Of his siblings who died of natural causes, Rosemary lived to be 86, Eunice 88, Patricia 82, Jean 92, and Ted 77.

JFK was chronically unhealthy, so he would probably skew low compared to his siblings. He was born in 1917, so he probably would have died in the mid-90s at the earliest. Can you imagine the Democratic Party if Kennedy were alive through the 70s and 80s? He would have been our Reagan, idolized even more as an elder statesman than he is as a martyr.

If he had survived his assassination, he almost certainly would have won re-election in 1964, would have passed the Civil Rights Bill and fought for de-segregation like LBJ did. Nixon probably would not have been elected president if Kennedy lived, either Kennedy, Jack or Bobby. He ran against JFK in 1960 and lost, then ran for governor of California in 1962 and lost again; at the time, California was a Republican stronghold, so it was a big deal that he lost in his own home state. Following that humiliating defeat, he threw a hissy fit, declaring that the media was the enemy of the people and threatening to leave politics altogether, “this is my final press conference, you vultures won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore!” Everyone thought his political career was ruined, but he managed to drag himself out of the hole he dug and back to the limelight by being a more appealing candidate in 1968 than Barry Goldwater had been in 1964. If JFK was still alive in 1968, the media would never stop comparing Nixon to him, and he would have been laughed out of the primaries.

It’s also important to realize that he only became president with 43% of the vote. Segregationist George Wallace ran a frighteningly successful third party campaign as a Dixiecrat (a conservative southern democrat, as opposed to the rising liberal wing from up north), receiving 14% of the vote and winning 5 states. If Kennedy had survived, his anti-segregationist policies would have made it impossible for Wallace to get any traction, so Nixon would have lost in 1968 anyway. Nixon and his main opponent Hubert Humphrey both got 31 million votes, but without Wallace running as a spoiler, Humphrey would have received a huge bump in both the popular an electoral college votes, almost certainly winning the presidency, though it’s uncertain if he would still have become the nominee in this version of 1968; he was LBJ’s Vice President, but if LBJ never became president, then Humphrey would have remained a Senator.

Maybe LBJ would have run in 1968, which would have hurt Wallace’s chances even more, as Johnson was a very popular southern Democrat. Johnson and Kennedy were not friends, there are rumors that Johnson blackmailed his way onto the 1960 ticket, and Kennedy’s secretary claimed years after he died that he would have replaced Johnson on the 1964 ticket with someone else, so I don’t know if a surviving incumbent Kennedy would have endorsed him in 1968. I’s likely that Kennedy would have endorsed his younger brother and Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, who would probably have survived his own assassination attempt just due to the butterfly effect; Sirhan Sirhan shot him for his support of Israel and the engagement of US troops in Palestine, but also because he was JFK’s brother. Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK for being anti-communist, which was also part of Sirhan’s motives in killing RFK. If JFK was never killed, the idea of political assassinations wouldn’t be as strong in the cultural zeitgeist, meaning it’s likely that Martin Luther King Jr and Bobby Kennedy both would have survived. MLK might have entered politics like AL Sharpton and John Lewis. Bobby would have run for president in 1968 or 1972.

The Democratic party was basically leaderless in our 1970s. Nixon won re-election in a landslide in 1972, and Jimmy Carter just barely eked by against Ford in 1976 because Ford lost all credibility when he pardoned Nixon for Watergate. If Kennedy assumed a leadership role in the 70s, it would have pushed the Democratic party into a much strong position going into the 80s. Ronald Reagan would have run earlier in this timeline; he was elected governor of California in 1966 and ran for president in 68, 72, and 76 before finally winning his party’s nomination in 80. Without Nixon and Ford, Regan would probably have run in 72 or 76, which means he would be the one who dealt with the Iranian Revolution, Oil Crisis, and Hostage Crisis, nuking his popularity and throwing a wrench in his economic plans, meaning he would be reviled rather than revered by the country. If Kennedy survived, there would be no Nixon, and a very different Reagan, meaning the entire last quarter of the 20th century would have gone differently,

How would the Cold War have ended if there was no belligerent Reagan followed by diplomatic Bush? Would Mikhail Gorbachev ever have come to power in the Soviet Union? He was chosen as the new leader in part because he was so young; his three direct predecessors had all died in office (Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko, the last two having only served about a year each). I can’t even picture the Soviet Union without Gorbachev. Kennedy wanted peace and conciliatory talks with Khrushchev, so perhaps relations would have normalized and the fight between capitalism and communism would have ended diplomatically instead of at the brink of war. Maybe the Berlin Wall would have fallen earlier, the Vietnam War could have been avoided or else won by the south, and the international space station would have gone up in the 80s instead of the 90s. With enough Gorbachev-esque reforms, the USSR might still exist today, in much the same way that the PRC still exists (China is capitalist in all but name, they only claim to be communist to “uphold the revolution”). Of course, without Gorbachev, such reforms would have been unlikely; Glasnost and Perestroika were overly ambitious, and his repeal of the Brezhnev Doctrine directly led to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the rise of democracy in Eastern Europe.

From Kennedy to Obama, the Democrats only elected southerners, so it’s likely that if Kennedy had survived the northern progressive faction would have been in a much stronger position in the 80s and 90s, meaning no Bill Clinton, which means no Republican Revolution under Newt Gingrich. Reagan still influences the GOP to this day, and he disappeared from the public eye immediately after leaving office because he brain was turning to mush. Imagine if the Democrats had a Regan-like figure to hold up, to model themselves after. Democrats are listless and leaderless, they’re not blindly loyal to whoever is in charge, so it would be a difficult sell to get them to all rally behind someone as divisive as Kennedy (because he WAS divisive; southerners HATED him, he only held the south because he had LBJ on his ticket), but were it to happen it would change the course of not just American history but world history over the last 60 years for the better.

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pierreslittleredblog · 3 years

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Inside the Eastern Bloc: A Brief History Of The Ex-USSR

“All victories inevitably come at a cost.” ‑ Mikhaïl Gorbachev, HBO Chernobyl

Nikola Tesla Boulevard on a summer evening, Serbia - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

A Tale Of Winners & Losers

Nothing feels more hopeless than a self-destructing world around you. We often forget how easy we have it, snuggled in our cocoons of excessive love and smothering. Sometimes, we need to be remembered who we are and where we come from. Not too long ago did our grandparents struggled and fought for their basic needs. Of course, now, with our technology, we don’t even have to worry about the basic survival priorities of the past. With the simple click of a button, we can have everything delivered to our doorstep without even raising an arm.

Ah, doesn’t it feel good to taste the sweet fruits of our capitalistic labor? Isn’t it great to be the “winners” of today’s world? Sometimes, we tend to forget that our victories come at a great cost. Sometimes, we forget to humanize our enemies. They too can love, laugh, cry and fear. They too, are humans like us.

Propaganda poster of Yuri Gagarin - Photo Source: @soviet.propaganda on Instagram

Watch Out For The Communist!

Let me ask you a question: How many times have you heard the word “communist” on the news? My guess of your answer is quite a few times. Although rare, sometimes it is used simply to describe the people that identify with the socialist Marxist-Leninist ideology. Most of the time though, it is used as a pure and simple insult. An insult that describes everything we don’t understand, fear, and dislike.

This exact description though is exactly what our grandparents were told about the red flag-carrying “commies” over in the eastern bloc. When the canons of wars tear through the skies, governments tend to create a sense of unity within their population to, somehow, justify the war on a national scale. They dehumanize their enemies and convince us that we must fear the others, and win this war at all cost (as they did with Vietnam).

But when we don’t even know who our enemies are, how can we fully grasp what’s at stake?

Propaganda poster of Lenin’s revolution - Photo Source: @comrade_quotes on Instagram

Rise Up, Comrade!

Before getting into the modern Soviet Union (the 1970s-1990s), let’s focus on the beginning. If you went over to the former republics of the Soviet Union in 2021, you would notice how terrible everything looks. Potholes, crumbling buildings, outdated trolleybuses, and subway cars, beaten up Lada’s plowing through knee-deep puddles under the unimpressed look of the driver’s face.

When you come to witness this spectacle in person, it is easy to assume that the Soviets must’ve had it rough back in the day, and boy you would’ve been right. Once the Tsars were no more, the new Soviet party lead by the revolutionist Vladimir Lenin promised a bright and equal future turned on the workers and the equal distribution of their labor. However, this promise wouldn’t be easy to achieve. What followed afterward were decades and decades of purges, wars, hard work, and brutal leadership by our good ol’ friend Comrade Stalin. Some argue about Uncle Joe’s good intentions, but this is not what I want to focus on. Here I want to talk about the last soviet’s aspirations and dreams, the ones our western leaders promised to crush for our freedom.

Haludovo Palace of Kirk, Croatia - Photo Source: @socmod on Instagram

For The Happiness Of All Mankind

The 1970s was a great time to be a Soviet. If you were a citizen, you would’ve been able to move into brand new apartments, get a stable job in any industry you wish, get all the food you can eat, obtain the diploma you wanted, have access to healthcare, you would even be able to get a brand new Lada, and all for free! Yes, you’ve read that right: for free.

Communism in the Soviet Union wasn’t about a totalitarian regime and oppressing its citizens (as the western propaganda wants us to believe), it was about universal free access to one’s every need. Now of course there were some questionable policies such as limited free speech and limited access to the outside world beyond the iron curtain (however more and more freedoms were given to the Soviets in the 1980s with the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev into office). The Soviet Union wasn’t lacking behind in technology either, in fact, it was the world’s second industrial and military superpower back in its heyday! They even sent the world’s first man into space.

This is what the real Soviet Union was about: unity and comradeship. They truly had a will to build a greater future for humanity and like us today, they had reached such a level of comfort that a bright future was taken for granted by everybody in the USSR.

However, this candor belief in a great future would suddenly come to a brutal end.

Edge of the Chernobyl Red Forest, Ukraine - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

Porridge With A Side Of Radiation

It’s April 26th, 1986. In a small town of the Ukrainian SSR, citizens are eating breakfast and preparing for yet another routine day. Children are headed to school and parents, to work. Some of them could notice smoke coming out of the industrial site nearby, and others had heard rumors about a possible roof fire that started in the night.

However, nobody seemingly cared as everybody went on with their day none the wiser. At the same time on the other side of town, ambulances are flying in one by one into the general hospital, carrying firefighters from the smoking site. Nurses run outside and discover men with unusual burns, screaming in pain. Nobody knew what was happening and they all tried to assist them to the best of their knowledge. The citizens didn’t know it yet, but only 3 kilometers away from their homes, the worst nuclear disaster that mankind would ever experience had happened.

Today, this event is simply known as “Chernobyl”. Of course, back then, they had no clue about what was actually happening, and Soviet bureaucracy would immensely delay the travel of information up to the top state officials. It took them a full 3 days before they evacuated the town of Pripyat, and on the same occasion, creating the famous 30 km exclusion zone (which is still in place today). Of course, by then, it was already too late. Most of the citizens had already received a fatal dose of radiation that would affect their descendants for generations, and make their land uninhabitable for hundreds of years.

This event was a true shifting point for the USSR, as the Soviet leader Gorbachev took the opportunity for the first time in Soviet history, to be as transparent as possible with its citizens and to the world. He finally admitted that the Soviet Union is about to crash.

Palace of Yugoslavia, Serbia - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

A Russian Traitor

Gorbachev told the shocking truth to its citizens. The country’s banks are empty, and for years the Union was living off the reserves accumulated in the past decades. The Soviet Union wasn’t producing anymore, and instead, became buyers. The self-sustaining system they had built before was no longer in place and everybody would have to brace for the rough years coming ahead.

This news naturally came as a true shock for the entire population, and suddenly all hopes of a bright future were lost. The citizens learned that the good years are over, and from now on, they should expect misery and poverty. The Cold War and the Afghanistan War had ruined the country’s economy, the former leader Leonid Brezhnev had lost the leadership with his lazy ways and had become too comfortable in his spending.

However, amid all this chaos and confusion, not a single second did anybody think the Soviet Union would simply collapse and disappear. They truly believed in the strong and powerful nation they had built in the past 69 years, and never imagined one second that it would come to an end. They thought they would simply fight through the rough years and rise again as they had done in the past century.

One politician though had another idea of how things would turn out. Boris Yeltsin, a man rejected by the Soviet party for having ideas too far away from the communist ideology, was grooming republics for their independence and made deals with the Americans without the knowledge of Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Party. This is how bad the bureaucracy had gotten. They became so out of touch with their own reality that on December 8th, 1991 the Belovezha Accords were signed by Yeltsin and two other figureheads (without the knowledge of Gorbachev), essentially ending the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Soviet mosaic bus stop in Kalmykia, Russia - Photo Source: @realbaldandbankrupt on Instagram

Shock Therapy

It’s Christmas Day, 1991, and the Americans have won. The Soviet Union, which they had fought for decades to end, finally ceased to exist. The dreams that were built, the futures seemingly so bright that was promised to its citizens, all disappeared on that one fateful night. What was a great victory for one side of the world, was a terrible event for the other. They had lost their nation, their future, their security.

They had now entered a decade of banditry, crime, and chaos. They were living through what we now refer to as “Shock Therapy”. The shift from communism to capitalism was so brutal that there were no more police to ensure safety. No more government to tell you what you can and cannot do. No more authority existed which left space for anarchy. The now ex-Soviet citizens were promised better times with the arrival of democracy but were only betrayed by the incompetence of their new leader that only brought them crime and misery.

Deteriorating children’s playground, Moldova - Photo Source: @kuca_ky_ky on Instagram

Crumbling Streets & Broken Dreams

Nowadays, the cities of the former Soviet Union seem to be nothing else than vast jungles of crumbling concrete. The brutalist blocks that were once the pride of a powerful nation, are now nothing but the symbol of a lost past and broken dreams. Elders remember the good days when they lived in a stable country, and the youth, forever and ever seduced with the exotic lifestyle of the Americans, see no future in their country and only dream about moving to the sunny beaches of California.

Ironically, the ex-Soviet generation fancies the lifestyle of those who caused their end, but we cannot blame them either. They truly don’t have much of a future in the former eastern bloc, and their old enemies seem to thrive more than ever now that their 20th-century nemesis had been eliminated for good. In the victories we win, we forget to remember the fate of our opposing forces.

On the surface, it may only seem like we are ending a powerful and evil regime, but underneath the surface, we fail to consider that we are also ending the peace and unity that existed in the nation.

We must recognize that we are not only ending a government but also all the hopes and dreams attached to it and that sometimes, we must put humanity first and political interests second.

The Genex Tower of Belgrade, Serbia - Photo Source: Pierre (PLRB)

A Word For The End

Thank you for reading my blog post about what I’ve retained from my trip to the former USSR. Please note that this is not meant to take a political side, but only to focus on the human aspect of the events. Either you’re a communist or a capitalist, everybody deserves a future and secure access to food, housing, education, and healthcare.

I have seen and met people who were deeply saddened by what they went through, and by the loss of their native country. Please remember that the government doesn’t always represent the population. A nation is 1% leaders, 99% normal people trying to make it in the world just like you and me.

If you are interested in learning more about the former Soviet world, I invite you to check out the YouTuber “Bald and Bankrupt”, which explores former USSR republics. He is the one that inspired my trip to the Ukraine last month.

If you are into music, I suggest you check out “Sovietwave”, which is a musical genre based on the nostalgia of the dreams and aspirations that the soviet people once had.

Thank you for reading and have a good day.

До свидания!

#ussr #sovietunion #russia #history #communism #socialist #soviet

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margdarsanme · 4 years

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NCERT Class 12 Political Science (World) Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

NCERT Class 12 Political Science Solutions (Contemporary World Politics)

Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED : Q 1. Which among the following statements that describe the nature of Soviet economy is wrong? (a) Socialism was the dominant ideology. (b) State ownership/control existed over the factors of production. (c) People enjoyed economic freedom. (d) Every aspect of the economy was planned and contained by the state.

Answer: (c) People enjoyed economic freedom. Q 2. Arrange the following in chronological order: (a) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (b) Fall of the Berlin Wall (c) Disintegration of Soviet Union (d) Russian Revolution

Answer: I. (d) Russian Revolution (1917) II. (a) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979) III. (b) Fall of the Berlin Wall (Nov 1989) IV. (c) Disintegration of Soviet Union Q 3. Which among the following is NOT an outcome of the disintegration of the USSR? (a) End of the ideological war between the US and USSR (b) Birth of CIS (c) Change in the balance of power in the world order (d) Crises in the Middle East

Answer: (d) Crises in the Middle East Q 4. Match the following:

Answer: (i)-(c); (ii)-(d); (iti)-(a); (iv)-(e); (v)-(b) Q 5. Fill in the blanks: (a) The Soviet Political System was based on ideology. (b) was the military alliance started by the USSR. (c) party dominated the Soviet Union’s political system. (d) initiated the reforms in the USSR in 1985. (e) The fall of the symbolised the end of the Cold War.

Answer: (a) socialist (b) Warsaw Pact (c) Communist (d) Gorbachev (e) Berlin wall Q 6. Mention any three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from that of a capitalist country like the US.

Answer: The three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from that of a capitalist country like the US, can be summed up as follows: 1. Soviet economy experienced a complex communication network, vast energy resources and an efficient transport sector to connect its remotest areas. 2. Soviet Union industries produced every domestic product from pin to cars, whose quality might not match with that of the west technology. 3. Soviet Union ensured a minimum standard of living for all its citizens. Consequently Government subsidised basic necessities including health, education, children and other welfare schemes. 4. There was an absence of unemployment in Soviet Union. 5. Land and productive assets were owned by the state only. Q 7. What were the factors that forced Gorbachev to initiate the reforms in the USSR?

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev was the General Secretary of Communist Party of Soviet Union in 1985. He was forced to initiate the reforms in the USSR due to following reasons: 1. To keep the USSR abreast of information and technological revolutions at par the West. 2. To normalise the relations with that of the West. 3. To democratise the Soviet System. 4. To loosen the administrative system which exempted ordinary people from the privileges. Q 8. What were the major consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union for countries like India?

Answer: The major consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union for countries like India can be analysed as follows: 1. Disintegration of Soviet Union gave an end to Cold War confrontations and to ideological disputes between two superpowers. 2. Military alliances had been abolished and demand arose for world peace and security. 3. Multipolar system was surpassed to exist where no single power could dominate and a group of countries could play a crucial role in world politics like NAM Countries. 4. The US became the sole superpower and capitalist economy became dominant at international level. World Bank and IMF became powerful advisors due to their economic support to these countries during transitional period. 5. The motion of liberal democracy emerged as a way to organise political life. 6. Due to disintegration of Soviet Union many new countries emerged with the independent aspirations and choices. 7. The Baltic and East European states wanted to join European Union and became the part of NATO. The Central Asian countries took the advantage of their geographical location and continued close ties with Russia, West, China and others. Q 9. What was Shock Therapy? Was this the best way to make a transition from communism to capitalism?

Answer: Shock Therapy was a painful process of transition from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system. This transformation system was influenced by the world bank and the IMF in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe. Though it varies in intensity and speed amongst the former second world countries but its direction and features were quite similar. This was not the best way to make a transition from communism to capitalism due to following drawbacks: 1. Russia, the large state controlled industrial complex lost about 90 per cent of its industries through sales to private individuals and companies 2. It created “the largest garage sale in history” which led virtual disappearance of entire industries for the restructuring was carried out by market forces in place of government owned policies. Hence, industries were undervalued and sold at throwaway prices. 3. It systematically destroyed old system of social welfare. 4. The value of ‘ruble’, the Russian currency, declined dramatically due to high rate of inflation and real GDP of Russia also declined between 1989 to 1999. 5. The withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of society into poverty and it emerged mafia to start controlling many economic activities. 6. Privatisation led to new disparities which divided Russia between rich and poor people creating economic inequality. 7. Hence, Shock Therapy brought ruin to economies and disaster upon the people of entire region. Q 10. Write an essay for or against the following proposition. “With the disintegration of the second world, India should change its foreign policy and focus more on friendship with the US rather than with traditional friends like Russia”.

Answer: India should not change its foreign policy and focus more on friendship with US, but India is required to maintain healthy relations with Russia because India has experienced a long band of mutual trust, interests and popular perceptions with Russia in the following manner: 1. Russia and India share a vision of multipolar world order i.e. co¬existence of several world powers internationally, collective security, greater regionalism, democratisation with the decision-making through bodies like the UN. 2. More than 80 bilateral agreements have been experienced between India and Russia as a part of the Indo- Russia Strategic Agreement of 2001. 3. India has been benefitted from its relationship on the issues like Kashmir, energy supplies, sharing information on international terrorism, access to Central Asia and balancing its relation with China. 4. Russia is also important for India’s nuclear energy plane and assisting India’s space industry by giving cryogenic rocket to India whenever needed. 5. Co-operation with Russia and its republics like Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan in the form of partnership and investment in oil fields has also benefitted India. 6. Russia is also benefitted from India on ground of the second largest arms market for Russia. Indian military gets most of its hardware from Russia. 7. Russia and India have collaborated on various scientific projects also.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

Q 1. When did Socialist Revolution take place in Russia?

Answer: 1917. Q 2. What was Shock Therapy?

Answer: Shock Therapy was the transitional form from authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe under the influence of the World Bank and IMF. Q 3. What was the largest garage sale in history?

Answer: Largest garage sale in history was resulted due to shock therapy to undervalue the valuable industries of the USSR to sell them at throwaway prices. Q 4. What was the immediate cause of disintegration of USSR?

Answer: The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic Republic (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia and others proved to be the most immediate cause for disintegration of the USSR. Q 5. What was Socialist Bloc?

Answer: The Second World countries or the group of east European countries who were liberated from fascist forces, followed the model of the USSR, known as Socialist Bloc. Q 6. What is the new name of former USSR?

Answer: Russia. Q 7. When did the Berlin Wall fall?

Answer: November 1989. Q 8. Who was the General Secretary of Communist Party of Soviet Union in 1985?

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev. Q 9. Mention the role of Boris Yeltsin in the disintegration of the USSR.

Answer: Boris Yeltsin had emerged as national hero after popular election in Russian Republic. In Dec 1991, under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared themselves independent. Q 10. What does CIS stand for?

Answer: Commonwealth of Independent States.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]

Q 1. What is meant by Shock Therapy?

Answer: The ‘Shock Therapy’ was the state of affairs which signifies the collapse of communism followed by a painful process of transition from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system- 1. ‘Shock Therapy’ administered in the year 1900 not to lead the people into the promised utopia of mass consumption. 2. It brought ruin to economies and disaster upon the people of entire region. Q 2. Why is it said that collapse of Berlin wall signified the collapse of bipolar world?

Answer: Collapse of Berlin Wall unified the divided Germany and eight east European countries of the Soviet Bloc replaced their Communist government resulting into disintegration of Soviet Union. With the disintegration of Soviet Union, military alliances came to an end and the world became unipolar. Q 3. Mention any two characteristics of Soviet Political System.

Answer: 1. The Soviet Political System central around the Communist Party and no other political party or opposition was allowed. 2. The economy was planned and controlled by the state only. Or The one party system had tight control over all institutions and was unaccountable to people. 3. People locked democracy and were snatched away their right to freedom of speech and expression. Q 4. “The Soviet Union lagged behind the West”. Comment.

Answer. The Soviet Union lagged behind the West in technology, infrastructure (transport, power etc.) as it could not cope with the political and economic aspirations of people and resulted in: 1. Though wages continued to grow but productivity and technology fell considerably behind that of the West. 2. This led to shortage of consumer goods and increased food import every year. 3. The above mentioned reasons made the Soviet economy stagnant. Q 5. Mention some features of Soviet Society.

Answer: 1. Soviet Society gave priority to the state and party institutions only. 2. Only the Communist Party was ruling over there and no opposition was allowed. 3. The economy was planned and controlled by the state only. 4. The Soviet Union became the great power after the Second World War. Q 6. Write anote onformationof Commonwealth of Independent States. Answer: Disintegration of the USSR gave birth to Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) when under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared themselves as independent and gave a surprise to other republics especially to central Asian Republics. This issue was resolved quickly by making these republics as founding members of the CIS and Russia became the successor state who inherited the Soviet sea in the UN and accepted all the international treaties and commitments. Q 7. Mention any two possibilities which were being presumed in changed scenario of world politics after disintegration of the USSR.

Answer: 1. The US, the only superpower could dominate the world and make a unipolar world. 2. A multipolar world could also exist where no other power could dominate or the group of countries could participate in the international affairs. Q 8. How did the USSR come into existence?

Answer: The USSR came into existence after the Socialist revolution in Russia in 1917 with the inspiration of socialism and a need of egalitarian society who opposed capitalism. This was considered the biggest attempt in human history to abolish the institution of private property and to design a society based on equality. Q 9. Who was Gorbachev? Why did he seek to reform Soviet Society?

Answer: Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. He was forced by the following factors to seek reforms in Soviet Society: 1. To keep the USSR abreast of the information and technological revolutions. 2. To bring Soviet economy at par with the west. 3. To loosen the administrative system. 4. To democratise Soviet System and to normalise relations with the west. Q 10. How did Shock Therapy affect trade and commerce of Russia?

Answer. Shock Therapy affected trade and commerce of Russia in the following manner: 1. The value of Ruble, the Russian ’ currency declined. 2. Inflation rose at a very high rate and it lost all savings of people. 3. Lack of productivity and technology created shortage of food which increased food imports every year. 4. The GDP of Russia also declined between 1989 to 1999. Q 11. When and how did Russia revive its economy?

Answer: Russia revived its economy in 2000 by the export of natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals. Even other countries have also gained due to crossing of pipelines from their region and they have been paid a rent. Russia has started some manufacturing units also to revive its economy. Q 12. Write a note on tension and conflicts that occurred in Russia.

Answer: In Russia, two republics—Chechnya and Dagestan—had violent secessionist movements. Moscow’s method of dealing with the Chechen rebels and indiscriminate military bombings have led to many human rights violation but failed to deter the aspirations for ‘independence’. Q 13. Mention the methods of‘Shock Therapy’ amongst the former Second World countries.

Answer: 1. The newly evolved criterion required to make a total shift to a capitalist economy to root out completely any structures evolved during Soviet period. 2. Shock therapy involved a drastic change in the external orientation. 3. Sudden and complete switch to free trade was considered essential. 4. It also involved openness to foreign investment, financial opening up and currency convertibility. Q 14. “ The old system of social welfare was systematically destroyed”. With reference to Shock Therapy, justify the statement.

Ans: 1. The Government withdrew subsidies and pushed people into poverty. 2. The middle classes were pushed to the periphery of society and the academic and intellectual manpower migrated. 3. A mafia had been emerged and started controlling many economic activities. 4. Privatisation led to new disparities.

Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]

Q 1. Describe any four consequences of the disintegration of Soviet Union.

Answer: (i) The disintegration of Soviet Union meant the end of Cold War confrontations which demanded the end of armed race and restoration of possible peace. (ii) This disintegration created the possibility to bring in a ‘multipolar system’ where no power could dominate. (iii) The US became the sole superpower and the ‘capitalist economy’ was now dominant economic system at international level. (iv) This disintegration emerged in many new countries dividing Soviet Union into 15 independent countries alongwith their own aspirations and choices. Q 2. Explain any two reasons for disintegration of the USSR.

Answer: 1. The internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions failed to meet the aspirations of the people. 2. Economic stagnation for many years led to severed consumer shortage and a large section of Soviet society began to double the system because Communist Party was not accountable to peoples. Q 3. What were the political reasons for disintegration of Soviet Union?

Answer: 1. The Communist Party of Soviet Union had ruled for over 70 years but it was not accountable to people. 2. Ordinary people had been alienated and were exempted from enjoying the privileges and to participate actively in political affairs. 3. Due to slow and stifling administration, the inability of system to correct mistakes lost popular support. 4. The centralisation of authority in > vast land. Q 4. In what manner Gorbachev’s reform policy was protested? Who took the command during these events?

Answer. 1. The East European countries which were the part of the Soviet Bloc, started to protest against their own government and Soviet control. 2. Boris Yeltsin took the command during these events as he got popular support of people in the elections and began to shake off centralised control. 3. Power began to shift from centre to the republics which declared themselves independent. 4. In December 1991, under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin Russia, Ukraine and Baltics declared themselves as sovereign states. Q 5. Why did Soviet system become so weak and Soviet economy stagnant?

Answer: Soviet system became so weak and Soviet economy stagnant due to the following reasons: 1. The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining nuclear and military arsenals. 2. Soviet economy concentrated on the development of its satellite states in Eastern Europe especially in the five central Asian Republics. 3. This led to a huge economic burden on people to be coped up with. 4. Ordinary citizens became more knowledgeable about the economic advancement of the West and backwardness of Soviet system. Q 6. Why did Gorbachev’s reform policy fail in spite of his accurate diagnosis of the problem?

Answer. 1. When Gorbachev carried out his reforms and loosened the system, he set in motion forces and expectations that few could have predicted and became virtually impossible to control. 2. Some sections of Soviet Society felt that Gorbachev should have moved much faster and were disappointed and impatient with him. 3. The members of communist party felt that their power and privileges were eroding and Gorbachev was moving too quickly. 4. In this tug of war, Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided public opinion with the disillusionment of inadequate dependence.

Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]

1. Read the following passage (NCERT Textbook, page 27) carefully and answer the questions: In eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia split peacefully into two, with the Czechs and the Slovaks forming independent countries. But the most severe conflict took place in the Balkan republics of Yugoslavia. After 1991, it broke apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence. Ethnic Serbs opposed this, and a massacre of non-Serb Bosnians followed. The NATO intervention and the bombing of Yugoslavia followed inter¬ethnic civil war. Questions 1. In Eastern Europe which republic split into two? 2. Name the republic/place where severe conflict took place. 3. Name various provinces with which Yugoslavia had been broken in 1991? 4. Which incidents resulted into inter-ethnic civil war?

Answer: 1. Czechoslovakia split into two with Czechs and Slovaks. 2. Balkan republics of Yugoslavia. 3. Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina. 4. 1. Ethnic Serbs opposed the breakirigup of several provinces independently following a massacre of non-serb Bosnians. 2. NATO intervention and bombing on Yugoslavia.

2. Read the following passage (NCERT Textbook, page 18) carefully and answer the questions: The Soviet system, however, became very bureaucratic and authoritarian, making life very difficult for its citizens. Lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech stifled people who often expressed their dissent in jokes and cartoons. Most of the institutions of the Soviet state needed reform : the one-party system represented by the communist party of the Soviet union had tight control over all institutions and was unaccountable to the people. The party refused to recognise the urge of people in the fifteen different republics that formed the Soviet Union to manage their own affairs including their cultural affairs. Although, on paper, Russia was only one of the fifteen republics then together constituted the USSR in reality Russia dominated everything, and people from other regions felt neglected and often suppressed. Questions 1. What was Soviet system? 2. How many republics formed Soviet Union? 3. Which republic dominated in the USSR? 4. Why did people become dissatisfied with the rule of Communist Party of Soviet Union?

Answer: 1. 1. Soviet system was bureaucratic and authoritarian making life difficult for citizens. 2. Soviet system lacked democracy and the freedom of speech of people was also snatched away. 2. 15 Republics. 3. Russia. 4. 1. Soviet Union had tight control over all institutions. 2. Soviet Union was unaccountable to people. 3. Soviet Union refused 15 republics to manage their own affairs.

Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]

Q 1. What was Soviet system? Assess any four features of Soviet system.

Answer: Soviet system was introduced after Socialist Revolution in Russia in 1917. It was based on the principle of egalitarian society and planned economy controlled by the state. Its four features can be summed up in the following ways: 1. The Soviet system ensured a minimum standard of living for its citizens. 2. The government subsidised basic necessities including health,education, childcare and other welfare schemes. 3. There was no unemployment in the Soviet system. 4. State ownership was the dominant owned and controlled by the Soviet state. Q 2. Explain six factors which helped Soviet Union becoming superpower after Second World War.

Answe: The following factors helped Soviet Union becoming superpower after Second World War: 1. The east European countries the Soviet army had liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR. 2. The political and economic systems of all these countries were modelled after the USSR and collectively were called the second world. 3. The WARSAW PACT, a military alliance held them together and the USSR was the leader of the bloc. 4. The Soviet economy was then more developed than the rest of the world except for the US. 5. It had a complex communication network, vast energy resources including oil, iron and steel, (machinery) production and a transport sector that connected its remotest _areas with efficiency. 6. It had a domestic consumer industry that produced everything from pins to cars to make themselves self-dependent. Q 3. “During the Cold War era India and the USSR enjoyed a special relationship which made critics to say that India was part of Soviet camp”. Examine the statement. Or “India and the USSR enjoyed mutual dimensional relationship.” Justify the statement.

Answer: During the Cold War era India and the USSR enjoyed a special relationship which made critics to say that India was part of the Soviet camp. It was a multi-dimensional relationship:

1. Economic: (a) The Soviet Union assisted India’s public sector companies at a time when such assistance was difficult to get. (b) It gave aid and technical assistance for steel plants like Bhilai, Bokaro, Vishakhapatnam and machinery plants like Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (c) The Soviet Union accepted Indian currency for trade when India was short of foreign exchange.

2. Political: (а) The Soviet Union supported India’s positions on the Kashmir issue in the WN. (b) The Soviet Union also supported India during its major conflicts during the war with Pakistan in 1971. (c) India too supported Soviet foreign policy in some crucial but indirect ways.

3. Military: (a) India received military hardware from Soviet Union. (b) India got technological know-how regarding maintenance of military arsenal. (c) India and Soviet Union got mutual agreements to produce military equipments.

4. Cultural: (a) Hindi films and Indian culture were popular in the Soviet Union. (b) A large number of Indian writers and artists visited the USSR. (c) Indian heroes from Raj Kapoor to Amitabh Bachhan are household names in Russia. Q 4. Mention the causes of Soviet disintegration.

Answer: The causes of Soviet disintegration can be summed up as follows:

1. Economic Stagnancy: (a) Economic institutions experienced internal weaknesses to meet the aspirations of people. (b) Economic stagnation for many years to severe consumer shortages.

2. Political and Administrative Causes: (a) The only ruling Communist Party was not accountable despite its rule of 70 years. (b) Theordinaiypeoplewereabstained from taking participation in political riots, hence the system became incapable of correcting its mistakes. (c) The ordinary citizens were exempted from gaining the privileges. (d) Due to non-participation of people, the government lost popular support from all sides.

3. Gorbachev’s Reform Policies: (а) Gorbachev’s reforms aimed at keeping the USSR abreast of information and technological revolutions taking place in the west. (b) Gorbachev focused to normalise relations with the west. (c) Gorbachev worked to democratise the Soviet System. (d) But Society was divided into two sections towards Gorbacheve’s reforms and both of them had contradictory views towards him.

4. Rise of Nationalism and Desire for Sovereignty: (a) The rise of nationalism in various republics of Soviet Union proved to be immediate cause of revolutions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Georgia. (b) The nationalist dissatisfaction with the Soviet Union was strongest in European and prosperous part in Russia and the Baltic areas as well as Ukraine and Georgia. (c) Ordinary people felt alienated from Central Asia. Q 5. What sot of conflicts had occurred in Soviet Republics? Explain.

Answer: 1. In Russia: (a) Chechnya and Dagestan had violent secessionist movements. (b) Moscow’s method to deal with Chechen rebels and indiscriminate military bombings led to many human rights violation but for deter aspirations for independence.

2. In Central Asia: (a) Tajikistan witnessed a civil war that went on for ten years till 2001. (b) In Azerbaijan’s provinces of Nagorno-Karobakh, some local Armenians want to secede and join Armenia. (c) In Georgia, the demand for independence came from two provinces resulting in a civil war. (d) There are still movements against the existing regimes in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia. (e) Even countries and provinces are fighting over river water.

3. In Eastern Europe: (a) Czechoslovakia, split peacefully into two with the Czechs and Slovaks, forming independent countries. (b) The severe conflict took place in the Balkan republics of Yugoslavia. (c) After 1991, Yugoslavia broke \ apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovania, Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence. (d) Ethnic Serbs opposed this and a massacre of non-Serbs Bosanians followed. (e) The NATO intervention and the bombing of Yugoslavia followed inter-ethnic Civil war.

Map Based Questions [5 Marks]

On a political map of world locate and label the following by giving symbols to them:

Questions 1. A republic of Eastern Europe split into two independent countries peacefully. 2. Most dominating republic of Soviet Union. 3. Identify two major oil and gas producers of Soviet Union. members of Commonwealth of Independent States.

Answer: 1. Czechoslovakia Czechs (1) and Slovakia(2). 2. Russia (3). 3. Turkmenistan (4) and Uzbekistan (5). 4. Yugoslavia (6). 5. Ukraine (7) and Belarus (8).

from Blogger http://www.margdarsan.com/2020/08/ncert-class-12-political-science-world_74.html

#NCERT Class 12 Political Science

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ricardotomasz · 4 years

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Such is life! Behold, a new Post published on Greater And Grander about The Ultimate Progressive Agenda

See into my soul, as a new Post has been published on http://greaterandgrander.com/2020/08/the-ultimate-progressive-agenda/

The Ultimate Progressive Agenda

A new constitution to free ourselves of the mistakes of the past, and end the white supremacy of the original Constitution. We need a fresh start.

Ranked Choice Voting and Proportional Representation.

As much as possible an end to geographic representation, which will by default end gerrymandering.

Dissolution of the "two" parties that dragged us so far to the right and into ruin, and international criminal trial of their members.

Full universal healthcare, even further than M4A, just a guaranteed right to medical care, including preventative care.

End homelessness while we're at it, everyone has a right to a minimum housing of some sort. Not McMansions for everyone, but a basic standard of living.

End to tax exemption for churches, and collection of back-taxes.

It would be nice to end the indoctrination of children, but that's probably a bit too far. Considering how big and secret Epstein's ring was, probably a good idea to have a government agency to crack down on child molestation.

And while we're at it make the last legal form of molestation illegal; infant circumcision.

Treat drugs like a proper medical problem instead of a criminal one, the only ones that should be illegal are ones where there's a "second hand" form. And even there it can easily just be a situation where it's "legal" as long as you're not doing it around anyone who doesn't want it. One way to think of it is to reestablish the right of non-smokers to have access to clean air.

On the subject of clean air, a new comprehensive environmental policy. A lot of people think about this sort of thing the wrong way, it will look more like nuclear disarmament than anything else. When the USSR and US disarmed, there was a lot of verification, and that's what we'd have with countries like China. China would have permission to be in our business making sure we are following the rules, and we get to do the same over in China. Without verification, there's too much a mentality of "If we follow the rules and they don't, we hurt our economy and they take over." So the verification is necessary. In this hypothetical we're finally becoming the good guy, instead of bad guys who just aren't the worst ones, so we'd finally have the ethical authority to forcefully crack down on foreign human rights abuses.

And on that subject we'll need massive reforms at home. And end to private prisons, and as much as possible an end to prisons entirely.

Fully defund and replace police forces with the various programs we actually need.

Start some sort of proper ethical civil patrol from the ground up with no involvement from former police forces or unions. A lot of this is going to involve help from foreign countries to set things up. It would be impossible to solo transition from one system to another, we need help putting a new system in place from places that already have good systems.

And on that subject we'll obviously need a new and better immigration policy. I'd like to see something negotiated at an international level, where people no longer need be bound by the country of their birth. Everybody should get one do-over on citizenship, since they have no control over where their mother gives birth.

Also a completely revamped education system emphasizing creativity, critical thinking, STEM, problem solving, and cooperation. Best way to do it would be on-campus pre-K through college for everyone, mainly to solve a different problem of not letting racists raise kids anymore, cause that's the only way to get rid of racism, is to stop letting them create new racists.

#MedicareForAll, #Politics

#Medicare For All #politics

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mama-forum-ch-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published on http://mama-forum.ch/question/charmdate-6/

cHarmDate

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ones vendors, Kuwait and consequently Sweden, amended their quality missed Friday in a very last minute attempt and get european backing, plunging a requirement that the new halt light select produce in 72 several. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia found claims very often that a principal quit campfire turned out not viable.

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itsiotrecords-blog · 7 years

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http://ift.tt/2sywKUt

World War II would affect millions from 1939 to 1945 and millions more ever since. The United States actually got off rather easy, no attacks on the home country and the lowest amount of casualties. But the rest of the major powers couldn’t say the same. The Soviet Union lost twenty million people with huge damage, especially a ruined Stalingrad. France had to put up with four years of German occupation. Poland and other nations nearly had their Jewish populations wiped out. Japan had to endure the horror of the first atomic bomb. The biggest damage may well have been Germany itself as their cities lay in ruins and they would become a divided nation. 70 years later and it’s still stunning to look back on the horrors of this conflict and the cost it inflicted on so many. It was also a photographer’s dream as even as major cities celebrated the war’s end, far too many had to put up with the effects of its damage. That includes a ruined Berlin and various unique ways the Allies “celebrated” their victory. Some pictures are famous but others are less known yet have a power to strike you majorly. It’s a reminder of the worst conflict in human history and a shame to one nation in particular. Here are 15 powerful images from the end of World War II and why it should always be remembered.

#1 The Doctor’s Last View Until the day he died, Harry Truman defended the use of the atomic bomb. As he argued, not using the bomb would have meant an invasion of Japan and Truman said there was no way he could live with all the casualties that would cost. He knew the damage caused by the bomb but felt it was worth it in the end. It did force Japan’s surrender yet it also kick-started a dangerous new era. The Soviets would work fast to get their own bomb and that would begin the arms race that created the Cold War. To this day, the fears of a nuke going off are terrifying to so many. The damage at the time was very harsh. The Allies were prepared for the destructive part of the bomb but working with radiation was still an unknown field. Thus, they didn’t fully understand the real damage of the bomb would be its fallout affecting thousands of survivors. This picture showcases a doctor from a local Nagasaki hospital as he looks over what was his home. Leaning on a staff to take in the horror, it’s a powerful shot. The man would pass on from radiation sickness to show the too human cost of this event.

#2 Ike And The Camps There had been reports of course but the Allies weren’t sure to believe it. It wasn’t just the idea it could be propaganda or some unknown factor. It was the simple fact that many could not accept the idea that a 20th century civilization could do something as horrific as the Holocaust. That Germany would actually attempt to wipe an entire people off the face of the Earth was just terrifying and astounding it could have happened without anyone knowing of it. When the camps were discovered, hardened soldiers wept at the sight of inmates little more than skeletons and the gas chambers on display. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a veteran general but even he was driven to sickness when he toured a camp. He wasn’t alone as George Patton, one of the toughest men alive, vomited at the sight of the mass graves. This photo has Ike taking in the conditions and obviously affected. He issued the order that the German citizens of nearby camps would work on clean-up duty, declaring they had to know what was really going on. Indeed, this would affect Eisenhower when he later ran for President to try and ensure such an atrocity didn’t happen again.

#3 A Nation’s Dishonor To many in the U.S. military, an invasion of Japan was the nightmare scenario. They knew the Japanese troops would be dug in and the mentality would be “death before dishonor.” That’s not to mention the civilians who would either be used as canon fodder or fighting themselves. The conservative estimates were deaths on both sides in the hundreds of thousands and thus dropping the bomb saved countless lives. While his generals objected, Emperor Hirohito knew the only option was to offer surrender. This photo shows a village square after the news is announced. Dozens are on their knees, either praying or weeping while others mill about in disbelief. It was just a shocking turn for the nation, to be brought down so low and know it was over. They could have taken fighting until there was nothing left but in so many ways, surrendering to save lives was a dishonor for Japan that took a longer time to recover from than the bombs.

#4 The Leftovers Even before the war began, the Nazi war machine was building up. Hitler had been planning this for years and prepared for a massive strike within a certain time frame. He was smart to keep much of it hidden so when Germany launched its attacks, the European nations were astounded at how much machinery and technology they had. Indeed, the Nazis made a lot of advances in sciences to the point that both the U.S. and USSR were recruiting members after the war to aid in the space programs. While checking out a mine near Tarthun in 1945, an American team was stunned to stumble onto the tunnel to a massive underground factory. There, they discovered a jet of partly completed He-162 fighter jets (better known as Junkers) among various other vehicles in a huge factory. It was a jarring sight, the revelation the German still had a lot of firepower on their side but just lacked the manpower and resources to get them out and going against the Allies. It also showed how it would take years after the war to find and wipe out every bastion of the German war machine.

#5 Elbe Day War makes for strange bedfellows, as the old saying goes. The U.S. and Great Britain knew full well Joseph Stalin was a madman just as bad (if not worse) than Hitler. But they also knew they needed the Russian war machine to combat Germany and that Stalin hated Hitler more than anyone else. So while they didn’t get along too well, they put on a show of being close allies in order to defeat the Axis. The Soviets were determined to reach Berlin first, wanting revenge for the millions killed by the Germans while the U.S. wanted to get the job done. It built up to April 25th, 1945 as Soviet and American troops met by the Elbe River. It signified they had basically cut Germany in half, the two sides having a good time meeting and posing for photos. Any hope Germany had was gone as their Allies continued their advance. While the U.S. and Soviets would become enemies soon, this showcased the alliance that brought the Axis down.

#6 Overflowing Camps What goes around comes around. It should be no surprise that the treatment of allied prisoners of war by the Nazis wasn’t that great. Most camps were horrible affairs with abuse, bad food, harsh conditions and more. Let’s just say there’s a good reason Hogan’s Heroes is cited as total fiction and utterly laughable in a way. Many German commanders seemed to enjoy using their camps as their private kingdoms to mistreat prisoners a lot. As the tide turned, some commanders were ordered to execute their prisoners rather than set them free. However, most were wise enough to know doing so would just be a death sentence and others refusing to cross that line. Thus, as more and more German units surrendered, Allied camps were soon pushed to the breaking point. This pic showcases that, a camp yard packed shoulder to shoulder with captured troops who are clearly not having a good time. It was still up in the air what would happen to them afterward with arguments how culpable they were in the Nazi atrocities. As this pic shows, the German should have been a little more careful how they treated prisoners before they got the same.

#7 The Battle Of Nations The Battle of Nations was created in 1913 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig. That massive conflict was the alliance of nations that defeated Napoleon, forcing him to return to France. The imposing tower is nearly three hundred feet tall, mostly concrete with terrific views of the city. Whenever Hitler visited Leipzig, he used the tower for meetings and enjoyed comparing himself to those German heroes. When the Allies advanced on Berlin, Leipzig was a major stop and it was a hard-fought conflict. At one point, 150 SS fanatics dug in inside the tower and intended to hold out as long as they could. In the end, the Allies forced their surrender with heavy artillery. This amazing photo shows a U.S. soldier taking in the damage with the statues around him seeing to look down in disdain as if hating this intruder here. It was one of the last holdouts of the German army and linking it to a major historical moment for the nation just makes this pic more haunting.

#8 The Captured As the war wound down, it was obvious Germany was going to lose. Some held out hope but the Allied strength was far too much. It took a few days for the world of V-E Day to get around, especially to units in remote areas so there were still pockets of resistance here and there. But that wasn’t enough to stop the Allied advance and the Nazis realized it was done. This pic showcases a band of German soldiers in the forest forced to surrender. What’s notable is the U.S. soldier taking them in is part of the ground-breaking African-American units who were making headway in the war (the armed services wouldn’t be desegregated until 1948). The idea of the soldiers of “the Master Race” being led to captivity by a black man is just a delicious irony. If anything, it sums up the fall of Germany, their elite soldiers taken in by one of the ‘inferiors” they despised and how the world was changing.

#9 Soviet Domination To the Germans, the knowledge of the Soviets coming at them was terrifying. The USSR had never gotten over Germany’s sneak attack on them in 1941 and the brutal combat that followed. Indeed, Russia lost nearly twenty million people, soldiers and civilians, to the German war machine. That included the bloody battle of Stalingrad that lasted two years and rendered the town a near ruin. So when the tide turned on Germany, the Soviets led the way with a brutal ferocity that could outdo anything the Nazis could throw at them. That was proven when they stormed into an already bombed out Berlin, the Soviet troops lashing out at any German civilian unfortunate enough to be in their way. The atrocities under Stalin are well known as the man was possible worse than Hitler and the rest of the Allies were content to just let Russia take the brunt of the assault. This led to this photo of a Soviet soldier raising the hammer and sickle flag over the captured Reichstag. It marked the domination of the USSR but also a precursor to how Berlin would become divided for decades and a warning of the power of the Soviet Union at its height.

#10 Hiroshima Horror When Harry Truman became Vice-President, he was mostly a political strawman with little real power and no inside knowledge of the Allied war plans. Truman was as shocked as everyone else when Franklin Roosevelt suddenly died in April of 1945, making Truman the 33rd President of the United State. Truman knew he had a big job ahead but was taken aback when he was let in on the existence of the atomic bomb and its power. With Germany defeated, the Japanese were holding out and making it clear they would not give up easily. Weighing the lives of possibly hundreds of thousands of American troops and twice as many Japanese civilians, Truman decided there was one course of action. On August 6th, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. In one instant, the town was nearly vaporized off the face of the Earth. Two days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and the Japanese had no choice but to give up. The sight of the wiped out city is chilling and even though it saved many lives, one has to wonder if it was worth the price in terms of horrible aftermath.

#11 Lowered Standards Say what you will about Joseph Stalin (like how he was a murderous cold-blooded psychopath responsible for millions of the deaths of his own people) but the man had a flair for the dramatic. It wasn’t enough for Stalin to show off the Soviet might in combat, he had to do it constantly at home as well. It was he who instigated the “May Day” parades, the annual event where the Soviet troops marched through Moscow to proudly proclaim their might. With the annual event in 1945 coinciding with the end of the war, Stalin went all out. He had troops show off captured German vehicles in terrible shape to illustrate the Nazi defeat as well as rescued Soviet POWs. The big move was a long line of soldiers holding up Nazi standards. At a signal, they proceeded to lower them to the ground then marched forward, rubbing the flags in the dirt like brooms. The crowds loved it, signifying the end of the Nazi regime and one can’t blame Stalin for wanting to make a show of their defeat.

#12 The Colorful Ruin Color photography was just coming into being in the 1940s and still quite rare. Black and white was just cheaper and much easier as color cameras tended to be rather bulky and hard to handle. Yet it was a given that for an event as important as the war, getting some color pics was vital. Thus, we have this stunning wide show of a fully colored ruined Berlin. It’s even more gripping than in black and white, showcasing the bombed out buildings and collapsed floors of the buildings and homes. Below, one can see the gates set up by Allied soldiers as German civilians clearly try to get back to see what is remaining of their homes and belongings. The sky seems far too nice for such a scene, the mostly blue skies with some clouds showcasing a lovely day that just makes the scene sadder. It showcases how, of all the people he hurt, Hitler might have given the worst damage to his own nation.

#13 The Reichstag Opened in 1894, the Reichstag was the meeting place for the German parliament, basically the equivalent to Capitol Hill in the United States. An imposing structure, it was a popular spot for visitors to see and recognized as the central place of not just Berlin but the entire nation. In 1933, it was heavily damaged by a fire blamed on Communists. Newly installed Chancellor Adolf Hitler thus used this to suspend rights and begin rounding up “suspects.” It’s not accepted that the Nazis themselves set the fire as part of Hitler’s takeover plans. With Hitler in control, the Parliament moved to the Kroll Opera House the few times it actually met. When Berlin was the target of massive bombings in the war, the Reichstag sustained even heavier damage. The Red Army made it a major target for its symbolism and this showcases how the building was practically read to fall in on itself, its domed ceiling a skeletal structure. It was abandoned for years with even talk of tearing it down but it was decided to restore it for historical value. It became a site for Germany’s reunification in 1990 and today is one of the most visited spots in Germany, remarkable given how badly it suffered.

#14 The Gaping Gate Built in 1791, the Brandenburg Gate has been one of the icons of Berlin. Ironically created as a symbol of peace by King Frederick William II, the Gate is well known for its bold columns, large top and the statue of a chariot pulled by four horses with a goddess on top. For decades, only the royal family was allowed to pass under the central column but by the 20th century, that had faded as it was a prime tourist spot for the country. When the Nazis rose to power, they used the Gate as a symbol of Germany’s might with massive rallies by it. During the fall of Berlin, the Gate was a major target and sustained damage from tank shells yet amazingly was able to keep standing. This showcases Soviet troops with the smoking gate in the background, still mostly intact, including its statues. After the war, both East and West Berlin worked together to repair the Gate as a symbol of good will. It was totally restored in 2002 and today, Germany intends to remember this as the product of peace it was intended for.

#15 The Rhine And The Ruins While it begins in Switzerland, the Rhine is most closely associated with Germany (fun trivia: The German pavilion at Epcot Center in Disney World was to have a Rhine boat ride). It’s been a key icon of the nation ever since it was part of the Roman Empire and forms a border between Germany and France that’s long been a source of conflict. It was also a symbol of Germany’s pride and might and so was both a target and obstacle for an Allied invasion. Indeed, an attempt to capture key bridges in Operation Market Garden became a major Allied failure. But the Germans couldn’t hold out forever as the Allies were able to capture some key bridges before they could be destroyed. That set the stage for brutal battles, especially by Cologne, the largest city on the Rhine. This pic showcases the devastation, the city a bombed out ruin. Several of the bridges are destroyed, a cathedral still standing but marked by damage. It took years for Cologne to recover and a startling showcase for the beauty of nature marked by man’s horrors.

Source: TheRichest

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margdarsanme · 4 years

Text

NCERT Class 12 Political Science (World) Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

NCERT Class 12 Political Science Solutions (Contemporary World Politics)

Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

Answer: (d) Crises in the Middle East Q 4. Match the following:

Answer: (a) socialist (b) Warsaw Pact (c) Communist (d) Gorbachev (e) Berlin wall Q 6. Mention any three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from that of a capitalist country like the US.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

Q 1. When did Socialist Revolution take place in Russia?

Answer: 1917. Q 2. What was Shock Therapy?

Answer: Russia. Q 7. When did the Berlin Wall fall?

Answer: November 1989. Q 8. Who was the General Secretary of Communist Party of Soviet Union in 1985?

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev. Q 9. Mention the role of Boris Yeltsin in the disintegration of the USSR.

Answer: Commonwealth of Independent States.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]

Q 1. What is meant by Shock Therapy?

Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]

Q 1. Describe any four consequences of the disintegration of Soviet Union.

Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]

Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]

Q 1. What was Soviet system? Assess any four features of Soviet system.

Answer: During the Cold War era India and the USSR enjoyed a special relationship which made critics to say that India was part of the Soviet camp. It was a multi-dimensional relationship:

Answer: The causes of Soviet disintegration can be summed up as follows:

1. Economic Stagnancy: (a) Economic institutions experienced internal weaknesses to meet the aspirations of people. (b) Economic stagnation for many years to severe consumer shortages.

Map Based Questions [5 Marks]

On a political map of world locate and label the following by giving symbols to them:

Answer: 1. Czechoslovakia Czechs (1) and Slovakia(2). 2. Russia (3). 3. Turkmenistan (4) and Uzbekistan (5). 4. Yugoslavia (6). 5. Ukraine (7) and Belarus (8).

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#Blogger #NCERT Class 12 Political Science

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margdarsanme · 4 years

Text

NCERT Class 12 Political Science (World) Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

NCERT Class 12 Political Science Solutions (Contemporary World Politics)

Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

Answer: (d) Crises in the Middle East Q 4. Match the following:

Answer: (a) socialist (b) Warsaw Pact (c) Communist (d) Gorbachev (e) Berlin wall Q 6. Mention any three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from that of a capitalist country like the US.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

Q 1. When did Socialist Revolution take place in Russia?

Answer: 1917. Q 2. What was Shock Therapy?

Answer: Russia. Q 7. When did the Berlin Wall fall?

Answer: November 1989. Q 8. Who was the General Secretary of Communist Party of Soviet Union in 1985?

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev. Q 9. Mention the role of Boris Yeltsin in the disintegration of the USSR.

Answer: Commonwealth of Independent States.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]

Q 1. What is meant by Shock Therapy?

Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]

Q 1. Describe any four consequences of the disintegration of Soviet Union.

Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]

Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]

Q 1. What was Soviet system? Assess any four features of Soviet system.

Answer: During the Cold War era India and the USSR enjoyed a special relationship which made critics to say that India was part of the Soviet camp. It was a multi-dimensional relationship:

Answer: The causes of Soviet disintegration can be summed up as follows:

1. Economic Stagnancy: (a) Economic institutions experienced internal weaknesses to meet the aspirations of people. (b) Economic stagnation for many years to severe consumer shortages.

Map Based Questions [5 Marks]

On a political map of world locate and label the following by giving symbols to them:

Answer: 1. Czechoslovakia Czechs (1) and Slovakia(2). 2. Russia (3). 3. Turkmenistan (4) and Uzbekistan (5). 4. Yugoslavia (6). 5. Ukraine (7) and Belarus (8).

via Blogger https://ift.tt/3amXYny

#Blogger #NCERT Class 12 Political Science

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